It is difficult to cull a satisfying thematic interpretation from Christina Rossetti’s "Goblin Market." Obvious themes might be "that one should be careful of temptation‚" or "that little girls should not talk to strange men." One might even go on to the end of the poem and decide the theme is "that sisters should love one another." These are rather trite ideas‚ however‚ and while the poem definitely supports them (and they are easily defended with quotations from the text)‚ a more careful look at
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Christina Rossetti’s poem “Goblin Market” published in 1862 depicts sisters‚ Lizzie and Laura‚ as goblin men walk past selling their fruits. In the context of this essay‚ an allegory is meant to be interpreted as an alternative‚ figurative understanding of the text that lies underneath the literal meaning of the text. Some critics believe “Goblin Market” to be an allegorical attack on the Victorian woman and the society of Rossetti’s time. In this context‚ the Victorian woman is to be understood
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Even as a subject to the limiting forces of Victorian social mores‚ Christina Rossetti established herself as one of the pre-eminent female poets of her time. Replete with biblical allusions to Adam and Eve as well as commentary on gender roles‚ her poem "Goblin Market" is her crowning representation of the presence of social contracts in Victorian England. Rossetti juxtaposes content and form by creating a fairytale-like poem in terms of its rhyming and singsongy nature -- "Crab-apples‚ dewberries
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Diane. Christina Rossetti: Faith‚ Gender‚ and Time. New York: Baton Rouge‚ 1999. Langbauer‚ Laurie. Women and Romance: The Consolations of Gender in the English Novel . Ithaca: Cornell University Press‚ 1990. Lennox‚ Charlotte. The Female Quixote. Edited by Margaret Dalziel. Oxford: Oxford University Press‚ 1989. Malina‚ Debra. "Reading the Patriarchal Text: The Female Quixote‚ Northanger Abbey‚ and the Trace of the Absent Mother." (Berkeley University Press) 8‚ no. 2 (1996): 1-21. Rossetti‚ Christina
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discriminatory laws were repealed‚ and the women’s suffrage movement gained a lot of momentum. As a result‚ many authors who stood up for women’s rights made sure that people knew that change was on the horizon. Authors like Charlotte Bronte and Christina Rossetti
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Sister Maude Christina Rossetti begins her poem “Sister Maude” with two similar questions‚ asking who told her parents about her ’shame’. We do not know at this point what the narrator’s shame is‚ but it gradually becomes clear that she was having an affair with a handsome man. In Victorian times when Rossetti was writing‚ this would certainly have been considered shameful. The narrator answers the questions in the first quatrain‚ naming her sister Maude as the person who told her parents what was
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viewed by Marxist criticism The poem‚ “Goblin Market” by Christina Rossetti‚ was originally intended to be a fairytale to teach children the simple cliché: “Don’t trust strangers.” Nevertheless‚ whether intended or not‚ the convoluted manner in which Rossetti crafts this poem‚ demonstrates that there are deeper meanings to this poem. The poem is no longer regarded as just a children’s fable‚ but instead is viewed as social commentary in which Rossetti is commenting about the world around her. The poem
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“Uphill Road‚” by Christina Rossetti makes me consider. That even though the path may seem dark and endless‚ there is a light at the end of the it. The road may seem uphill and forever‚ but the easy way out is never the option. “Winds uphill all the way” which was mentioned in the poem reveals and prepares readers for a hard climb ahead. “Does the road wind up-hill all the way? Yes‚ to the very
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following the initial guise of children’s literature‚ Laura and Lizzie are presented as foils to each other within the poem. Both sisters are described as having “golden” hair and portraying themselves as the typical virtuous female of the time (Rossetti Line 184). Additionally‚ their lack of physical description also suggests the possibility of them being twin sisters. Which is why the important factor in distinguishing between the two relies on their personalities. Laura is a “curious” individual
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stereotyped women as naïve ’’damsels in distress’’‚ constantly reliant on male protection. Women who rebelled against this stereotype‚ or got men into trouble were punished. The poetic works of Christina Rossetti explore to what extent women are victims. Rossetti was concerned with the different layers upon which
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